“Eternal Notre-Dame”, “Resurrected Notre-Dame”: Le Parisien devoted two special issues to the fire of the cathedral. The first was published on April 19, 2019 in Île-de-France. A 100-page collector's issue with exceptional contributions from Stéphane Bern, Bernard Werber and Sylvain Tesson. The travel writer describes with passion his relationship with the spire, which he so loved to climb at night with his bare hands: “It was alive, it was vibrant, it was a marvelous look, in the middle of the gargoyles that watch over us. »
This issue immerses the reader in the nine hundred years of history of the building and allows you to rediscover its 15 treasures: the gallery of kings, the great organ, the Mays (huge paintings offered by the goldsmiths' guilds in the 17th century century) and many others. It also looks back on the stages of the construction and major restorations of this Gothic jewel, the stories of the great historical events, the secrets and the dramas which it witnessed.
We also told how, over time, the cathedral has remained an inexhaustible source of inspiration. For the artists of yesterday – Victor Hugo and his famous historical novel – and today, a fabulous support for puzzles for cinema, musical comedies or video games. A number produced as quickly as possible, like writing to a loved one affected by a tragedy. Divine neighbor, who will rise again.
Our second special issue, “Our Lady Resuscitated”, published on March 27, 2024, tells the inside story of the “construction site of the century”, in collaboration with the magazine “Connaissance des arts”. He returns, step by step, to the formidable human adventure which made it possible to achieve what seemed impossible: a reconstruction in five years. From page to page, he meets the women and men, exceptional artisans, who have worked to meet the challenge. And allows us to understand the tour de force of this restoration, combining ancestral know-how and cutting-edge technology.
A new version of this special edition, enriched by the last months of the construction site, including the spectacular closure of the transept crossing, the completion of the roof and souvenir photos of the reopening to the general public and the faithful on 7 and 8 December, will be published on December 11.
